Driving News

The city has had police do enforcement in the past, especially on Mercer Street. Before the city can begin using cameras to give out tickets to people who “Block the Box,” they need to get permission from the state legislature.

“Gridlock starts when people ‘block the box’ and so we need to prevent that as much as possible,” said Heather Marx, SDOT’s Director of Downtown Mobility. “It’s a similar camera-oriented enforcement mechanism where they’d snap a picture of you in the box, not at your turn. What we’re also going to ask for permission to enforce transit lanes, the lanes that are clearly marked only for transit, to be enforced by cameras as well.”

The enforcement is a priority especially during the “Time of Maximum Constraint,” the next five years when the city will be undergoing major road and construction projects at once.